1. What would Kampuchea be like had the Khmer Rouge not attacked Vietnam which resulted in their loss of power?
2. Do you think the invasion of the Vietnamese in 79 was justified or was it a good thing or bad thing?
3. Do you think the Vietnamese would have invaded Kampuchea even if the Khmer Rouge had not attacked Vietnam?
4. Do you think the Vietnamese were behind the "killing fields"?
5. Were the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge friends or enemies?
6. Do you believe the Vietnamese owe Kampuchea an apology for using its territory to wage war against the Americans and its allies?
7. Do you think Kampuchea gave up its claim to the land in Southern Vietnam when its leader invited the French over to manage the country?
8. Do you think Vietnam should just give the land back to Kampuchea after Vietnam kicked the French's A S S?
9. Do you think the land in Southern Vietnam was the "spoils of war" after the Vietnamese defeated the French?
10. Do you have any direct knowledge of Vietnamese soldiers abusing Cambodian civilians during the occupation?
11. Where were you during the occupation?
12. What political group in Kampuchea do you identify yourself with?
13. Who do you think is the worse enemy of Kampuchea, Thailand or Vietnam?
14. During Lon Nol's reign, thousands of people with Vietnamese ancestry in Kampuchea were killed simply because they were vietnamese even though some don't even speak Vietnamese. Do you believe the killing were justified?
15. During the Khmer Rouge's reign, the Vietnamese who lived in Kampuchea (many had been there for generations) were "removed". Do you think the "removals" were justified?
16. Have you ever heard of Cambodian civilians being killed by Vietnamese simply because they were Cambodians?
17. Have you ever heard of any Vietnamese (this forum's participants excluded) advocating the killing of Cambodians simply because they are Cambodians?
18. Do you hate or love (or don't care about) Pol Pot?
19. Are any of your friends or families victims of Pol Pot?
20. Are you a supporter of Pol Pot? (ignore this question. It's redundant)
21. If Campuchea were much more powerful than Vietnam, what do you think it would do?
Full Version: Some questions for Khmers from a Vietnamese
uuh this thread is so flame-bait 
Answer for #1-#20
"Dont worry be happy.... hooo hooo hooo ho hoooooo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho, dont worry, hoo hoo hooooo, be happy."
"Dont worry be happy.... hooo hooo hooo ho hoooooo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho, dont worry, hoo hoo hooooo, be happy."
I'll do my best.. but these are my opinions :P
1. Most likely, a communist country. Aside from that, my guess is that it would be a lot worse off than it is at the moment.
2. As far as I know, the KR were attacking civilians across the border. Vietnam had the right to attack.
3. I wouldn't have a clue about this. But who knows?
4. Haven't heard about that.
5. Weren't they friends to begin with? Then later...
6. I don't think they had a right to do so.
7. Don't know.
8. Lol, tell me what country would do that.
9. I never thought of it that way.
10. Nope, but then again, most of my parents's friends left Cambodia via Thailand pre-1979.
11. Well I was born in Australia... in 1986.
12. None.
13. On the whole, I'd say Thailand is a bigger threat. The whole Preah Vihear issue, the land encroachment, just about everything. The difference is that while Cambodians cry foul over Vietnamese doings, when Thailand does it, it feels as if no one bats an eyelid.
One explanation I do have for this is the way that Khmers in Isaan are treated vs the way Khmers in South Vietnam are treated. In Isaan, they are considered Thai people whereas in South Vietnam, they are still the Khmer Krom. I don't feel like getting into too much depth here.
Another simpler explanation might be the cultural similarities. To an outsider having a glance at some of the arts, religion, writing and such, Khmer, Thai and even Lao are exactly the same.
14. No.
15. From what I know, most Vietnamese people who lived in Cambodia at the time (most minorities actually, except for the Khmer Loeu) settled in the city areas. Seeing as the cities were the last to fall victim to the Khmer Rouge, most of the peoples settled there were resented by others in the countryside. Even the ethnic Khmers. In any case, no, those killings aren't justifiable.
16. I've heard of rival gangs (Cambos vs. Viets basically) doing so... although I'm unsure as to whether the killing was motivated by the guy being Cambodian or because he was in the rival gang.
17. Heard of, yes. My cousin was dating a Vietnamese girl when they were both a lot younger (like.. 13), and her dad chucked a psycho.
18. I hate what he did to the people of Cambodia.
19. My parents and relatives.
20. .... *laughs* no.
21. Same thing I suppose. It's all relative. It's like how Vietnamese people have a whinge about China. Cambodians have a whinge about Vietnam, and Thailand.
By the way, it's Kampuchea. :P
1. Most likely, a communist country. Aside from that, my guess is that it would be a lot worse off than it is at the moment.
2. As far as I know, the KR were attacking civilians across the border. Vietnam had the right to attack.
3. I wouldn't have a clue about this. But who knows?
4. Haven't heard about that.
5. Weren't they friends to begin with? Then later...
6. I don't think they had a right to do so.
7. Don't know.
8. Lol, tell me what country would do that.
9. I never thought of it that way.
10. Nope, but then again, most of my parents's friends left Cambodia via Thailand pre-1979.
11. Well I was born in Australia... in 1986.
12. None.
13. On the whole, I'd say Thailand is a bigger threat. The whole Preah Vihear issue, the land encroachment, just about everything. The difference is that while Cambodians cry foul over Vietnamese doings, when Thailand does it, it feels as if no one bats an eyelid.
One explanation I do have for this is the way that Khmers in Isaan are treated vs the way Khmers in South Vietnam are treated. In Isaan, they are considered Thai people whereas in South Vietnam, they are still the Khmer Krom. I don't feel like getting into too much depth here.
Another simpler explanation might be the cultural similarities. To an outsider having a glance at some of the arts, religion, writing and such, Khmer, Thai and even Lao are exactly the same.
14. No.
15. From what I know, most Vietnamese people who lived in Cambodia at the time (most minorities actually, except for the Khmer Loeu) settled in the city areas. Seeing as the cities were the last to fall victim to the Khmer Rouge, most of the peoples settled there were resented by others in the countryside. Even the ethnic Khmers. In any case, no, those killings aren't justifiable.
16. I've heard of rival gangs (Cambos vs. Viets basically) doing so... although I'm unsure as to whether the killing was motivated by the guy being Cambodian or because he was in the rival gang.
17. Heard of, yes. My cousin was dating a Vietnamese girl when they were both a lot younger (like.. 13), and her dad chucked a psycho.
18. I hate what he did to the people of Cambodia.
19. My parents and relatives.
20. .... *laughs* no.
21. Same thing I suppose. It's all relative. It's like how Vietnamese people have a whinge about China. Cambodians have a whinge about Vietnam, and Thailand.
By the way, it's Kampuchea. :P
QUOTE
13. On the whole, I'd say Thailand is a bigger threat. The whole Preah Vihear issue, the land encroachment, just about everything. The difference is that while Cambodians cry foul over Vietnamese doings, when Thailand does it, it feels as if no one bats an eyelid.
thailand is as much a threat as vietnam
but if cambodia was to choose who they'd side with, it's probably thailand. why? vietnam not only view cambodians as uncivilized barbarians but almost all the countries who did not inherit the chinese culture like they have. simply put, vietnam will make more enemies in the future if they keep this attitude of superiority up. they see themselves as the mini "middle kingdom" in SEA much like the chinese who see their country as the middle kingdom but at a larger scale. thailand does see itself as more superior than cambodia,laos and vietnam but they certainly do not see themselves culturally superior unlike the vietnamese. that is why i said vietnam will make more enemies. but these two countries are funny.. thailand and vietnam... both countries view themselves as the leader of SEA and one view itself lower than the other.
QUOTE (nombaingsachko @ Aug 4 2005, 04:32 PM)
if cambodia was to choose who they'd side with, it's probably thailand.
Funny that you mention it.
I will admit that my source, at least this time around, was wikipedia...
... but it was the only way I could find information quickly.QUOTE
More than their conquest of Angkor a century and a half earlier, the Thai capture of Lovek marked the beginning of a decline in Cambodia's fortunes. One possible reason for the decline was the labor drain imposed by the Thai conquerors as they marched thousands of Khmer peasants, skilled artisans, scholars, and members of the Buddhist clergy back to their capital of Ayutthaya. This practice, common in the history of Southeast Asia, crippled Cambodia's ability to recover a semblance of its former greatness. A new Khmer capital was established at Odongk (Udong), south of Lovek, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to vassal relationships with the Thai and with the Vietnamese. In common parlance, Thailand became Cambodia's "father" and Vietnam its "mother."
By the late fifteenth century, the Vietnamese--who, unlike other Southeast Asian peoples, had patterned their culture and their civilization on those of China--had defeated the oncepowerful kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam. Thousands of Chams fled into Khmer territory. By the early seventeenth century, the Vietnamese had reached the Mekong Delta, which was inhabited by Khmer people. In 1620 the Khmer king Chey Chettha II (1618-28) married a daughter of Sai Vuong, one of the Nguyen lords (1558- 1778), who ruled southern Vietnam for most of the period of the restored Le dynasty (1428-1788). Three years later, Chey Chettha allowed the Vietnamese to establish a custom-house at Prey Nokor, near what is now Ho Chi Minh City (until 1975, Saigon). By the end of the seventeenth century, the region was under Vietnamese administrative control, and Cambodia was cut off from access to the sea. Trade with the outside world was possible only with Vietnamese permission.
There were periods in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, when Cambodia's neighbors were preoccupied with internal or external strife, that afforded the beleaguered country a breathing spell. The Vietnamese were involved in a lengthy civil war until 1674, but upon its conclusion they promptly annexed sizable areas of contiguous Cambodian territory in the region of the Mekong Delta. For the next one hundred years they used the alleged mistreatment of Vietnamese colonists in the delta as a pretext for their continued expansion. By the end of the eighteenth century, they had extended their control to include the area encompassed in the late 1980s by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).
Thailand, which might otherwise have been courted as an ally against Vietnamese incursions in the eighteenth century, was itself involved in a new conflict with Burma. In 1767 the Thai capital of Ayutthaya was besieged and destroyed. The Thai quickly recovered, however, and soon reasserted their dominion over Cambodia. The youthful Khmer king, Ang Eng (1779-96), a refugee at the Thai court, was installed as monarch at Odongk by Thai troops. At the same time, Thailand quietly annexed Cambodia's three northernmost provinces. In addition, the local rulers of the northwestern provinces of Batdambang and Siemreab (Siemreap) became vassals of the Thai king, and these areas came under the Thai sphere of influence.
A renewed struggle between Thailand and Vietnam for control of Cambodia in the nineteenth century resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials, working through a puppet Cambodian king, ruled the central part of the country and attempted to force Cambodians to adopt Vietnamese customs. Several rebellions against Vietnamese rule ensued. The most important of these occurred in 1840 to 1841 and spread through much of the country. After two years of fighting, Cambodia and its two neighbors reached an accord that placed the country under the joint suzerainty of Thailand and Vietnam. At the behest of both countries, a new monarch, Ang Duong (1848-59), ascended the throne and brought a decade of peace and relative independence to Cambodia.
In their arbitrary treatment of the Khmer population, the Thai and the Vietnamese were virtually indistinguishable. The suffering and the dislocation caused by war were comparable in many ways to similar Cambodian experiences in the 1970s. But the Thai and the Vietnamese had fundamentally different attitudes concerning their relationships with Cambodia. The Thai shared with the Khmer a common religion, mythology, literature, and culture. The Chakri kings at Bangkok wanted Cambodia's loyalty and tribute, but they had no intention of challenging or changing its people's values or way of life. The Vietnamese viewed the Khmer people as barbarians to be civilized through exposure to Vietnamese culture, and they regarded the fertile Khmer lands as legitimate sites for colonization by settlers from Vietnam.
By the late fifteenth century, the Vietnamese--who, unlike other Southeast Asian peoples, had patterned their culture and their civilization on those of China--had defeated the oncepowerful kingdom of Champa in central Vietnam. Thousands of Chams fled into Khmer territory. By the early seventeenth century, the Vietnamese had reached the Mekong Delta, which was inhabited by Khmer people. In 1620 the Khmer king Chey Chettha II (1618-28) married a daughter of Sai Vuong, one of the Nguyen lords (1558- 1778), who ruled southern Vietnam for most of the period of the restored Le dynasty (1428-1788). Three years later, Chey Chettha allowed the Vietnamese to establish a custom-house at Prey Nokor, near what is now Ho Chi Minh City (until 1975, Saigon). By the end of the seventeenth century, the region was under Vietnamese administrative control, and Cambodia was cut off from access to the sea. Trade with the outside world was possible only with Vietnamese permission.
There were periods in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, when Cambodia's neighbors were preoccupied with internal or external strife, that afforded the beleaguered country a breathing spell. The Vietnamese were involved in a lengthy civil war until 1674, but upon its conclusion they promptly annexed sizable areas of contiguous Cambodian territory in the region of the Mekong Delta. For the next one hundred years they used the alleged mistreatment of Vietnamese colonists in the delta as a pretext for their continued expansion. By the end of the eighteenth century, they had extended their control to include the area encompassed in the late 1980s by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).
Thailand, which might otherwise have been courted as an ally against Vietnamese incursions in the eighteenth century, was itself involved in a new conflict with Burma. In 1767 the Thai capital of Ayutthaya was besieged and destroyed. The Thai quickly recovered, however, and soon reasserted their dominion over Cambodia. The youthful Khmer king, Ang Eng (1779-96), a refugee at the Thai court, was installed as monarch at Odongk by Thai troops. At the same time, Thailand quietly annexed Cambodia's three northernmost provinces. In addition, the local rulers of the northwestern provinces of Batdambang and Siemreab (Siemreap) became vassals of the Thai king, and these areas came under the Thai sphere of influence.
A renewed struggle between Thailand and Vietnam for control of Cambodia in the nineteenth century resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials, working through a puppet Cambodian king, ruled the central part of the country and attempted to force Cambodians to adopt Vietnamese customs. Several rebellions against Vietnamese rule ensued. The most important of these occurred in 1840 to 1841 and spread through much of the country. After two years of fighting, Cambodia and its two neighbors reached an accord that placed the country under the joint suzerainty of Thailand and Vietnam. At the behest of both countries, a new monarch, Ang Duong (1848-59), ascended the throne and brought a decade of peace and relative independence to Cambodia.
In their arbitrary treatment of the Khmer population, the Thai and the Vietnamese were virtually indistinguishable. The suffering and the dislocation caused by war were comparable in many ways to similar Cambodian experiences in the 1970s. But the Thai and the Vietnamese had fundamentally different attitudes concerning their relationships with Cambodia. The Thai shared with the Khmer a common religion, mythology, literature, and culture. The Chakri kings at Bangkok wanted Cambodia's loyalty and tribute, but they had no intention of challenging or changing its people's values or way of life. The Vietnamese viewed the Khmer people as barbarians to be civilized through exposure to Vietnamese culture, and they regarded the fertile Khmer lands as legitimate sites for colonization by settlers from Vietnam.
Essentially, Khmers chose both.
Thanks for all your replies and let me state for the record that this thread is not intended to inflame or offend anyone. I simply wish to understand the complex relationship between the Cambodians and the Vietnamese. I grew up in the central region of Vietnam. The only knowledge of Cambodia I had at that time was that the Vietnamese were occupying it after driving out the Khmer Rouge. In school, we were taught that driving out the Khmer Rouge was a noble purpose and that was the whole reason we were there. Let me say this, any young men at the age of military draft (around 18) Fear very much of being sent to Kampuchea. I have first-hand knowledge of this because I was there (in Vietnam) and I had several cousins and cousins-in-law who were actually sent to Kampuchea. They described the horrific fightings with the Khmer Rouge forces and also some stories of cannibalism (mainly body organs) and I'm not going to say who ate whom (no need for flames). Kampuchea was the last place on earth we wanted to be. When Vietnam was forced to withdraw from Kampuchea, we were all very relieved. Other than the stories from my cousins, there was NO information from the government regarding the situation.
I'd like more information regarding the situations of Cambodian civilians during the occupation. What were the treatments of Vietnamese soldiers towards civilians? How did Cambodians view the occupation? Did the Vietnamese come to save them (Cambodians), to remove a regime they don't like (the Khmer Rouge), to simply occupy Kampuchea as other Vietnamese had done in the past, or to take more land by force? I also like to hear from Khmers who live/had lived in present-day southern Vietnam. What is the relationship between Khmers and Vietnamese in that region. What kind of treatment does the Vietnamese government extend to the Khmers. The suppresion of religious practices should not be mentioned to show that Khmers are mistreated because the Vietnamese government suppresses all religious practices regardless of ethnic background. Were/are there any anti-Khmer rhetorics coming from Vietnamese officials in that region? What about this superiority complex of Vietnamese towards Cambodians (participants of this forum excluded)? The light-skin vs. dark-skin issue should be discussed. The story of Vietnamese soldiers several hundred years ago using live Cambodians buried in sand to boil water for tea should also be discussed. I heard of the story from a western source pointed out by another Vietnamese member that says this story first originated during the reign of Lon Nol. I think the story would be more credible if it is heard from forum members with Khmer background who lived or had lived in southern Vietnam. Please indicate where and when you first heard of the story. It's a lot more credible if you heard it from your parents who heard it from their parents and so on. There will be more questions to come. Thanks in advance for your serious reply.
I'd like more information regarding the situations of Cambodian civilians during the occupation. What were the treatments of Vietnamese soldiers towards civilians? How did Cambodians view the occupation? Did the Vietnamese come to save them (Cambodians), to remove a regime they don't like (the Khmer Rouge), to simply occupy Kampuchea as other Vietnamese had done in the past, or to take more land by force? I also like to hear from Khmers who live/had lived in present-day southern Vietnam. What is the relationship between Khmers and Vietnamese in that region. What kind of treatment does the Vietnamese government extend to the Khmers. The suppresion of religious practices should not be mentioned to show that Khmers are mistreated because the Vietnamese government suppresses all religious practices regardless of ethnic background. Were/are there any anti-Khmer rhetorics coming from Vietnamese officials in that region? What about this superiority complex of Vietnamese towards Cambodians (participants of this forum excluded)? The light-skin vs. dark-skin issue should be discussed. The story of Vietnamese soldiers several hundred years ago using live Cambodians buried in sand to boil water for tea should also be discussed. I heard of the story from a western source pointed out by another Vietnamese member that says this story first originated during the reign of Lon Nol. I think the story would be more credible if it is heard from forum members with Khmer background who lived or had lived in southern Vietnam. Please indicate where and when you first heard of the story. It's a lot more credible if you heard it from your parents who heard it from their parents and so on. There will be more questions to come. Thanks in advance for your serious reply.
The occupation of Cambodia by Vietnam, is just like the Ocupation of Iraq by Americans.
It all depends on who you ask.
It all depends on who you ask.
QUOTE (Point_Dexter @ Aug 3 2005, 10:54 PM)
Answer for #1-#20
"Dont worry be happy.... hooo hooo hooo ho hoooooo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho, dont worry, hoo hoo hooooo, be happy."
"Dont worry be happy.... hooo hooo hooo ho hoooooo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho, dont worry, hoo hoo hooooo, be happy."
yo thats freaky, at the same time i read that, i m watching fresh prince, the golfing episode, and that song is playing, honestly, i kid you not, ok sorry back to yous convo.
Now that is freaky! When I was trying to think up a serious answer for this thread, that Fresh Prince episode was on the background, and inspired me to reply as so. FREAKY!!!!!
Hey Worker Bee, here are my personal answers to your questions below:
[QUOTE]1. What would Kampuchea be like had the Khmer Rouge not attacked Vietnam which resulted in their loss of power?[/QUOTE]
Evidence shows that in less than just 4 years, the Khmer Rouge already brought progressive Cambodia back to the stone age. So I think it would take a very long time for the Khmer Rouge to REBUILD Cambodia back up again. Thus, I mean Cambodia would not have the international standard, even though during the Khmer Rouge era, there was no poverty or unemployment.
[QUOTE]2. Do you think the invasion of the Vietnamese in 79 was justified or was it a good thing or bad thing?[/QUOTE]
This question has a similar meaning as an economy opportunity. The hopeless, overworked starving Khmer people were already hoping for any intervention from anybody so when the Viet troops showed up to confronted the ruthless Khmer Rouge troops, they really rooted for the Viet troops as LIBERATORS initially. In my own personal opinion, the Viet intervention was a GOOD DEED viewed from the Khmer people for the initial brief period. However, the Khmer ALSO understood the true INTENTION of Vietnam in its mission to OCCUPY Cambodia. So to the Khmer people, Vietnam never abandons its abusive, treacherous, backstabbing personality towards Cambodia. So the INVASION was a good thing, but the OCCUPATION for 10 long years was an EVIL thing. If you put a good thing and an Evil thing together, Vietnam will always remain EVIL and unchanging in the views of the Khmer people.
[QUOTE]3. Do you think the Vietnamese would have invaded Kampuchea even if the Khmer Rouge had not attacked Vietnam?[/QUOTE]
I also have a question of my own. I have always wondered why did the Khmer Rouge decide to challenge the Vietnamese troops in the first place? I read an analysis of the Cambodian history during the Khmer Rouge regime by a well-known news writer, and he said that both Vietnam and Cambodia could not escape the geopolitics played by the superpowers Soviet Unions, China, and the United States at the time. He said when it was all said an done, it was Cambodia ALONE who got suffered the MOST. That is the saddest part. So yes, Vietnam would have invaded Kampuchea regardless of the Khmer Rouge's border attack or not.
[QUOTE]4. Do you think the Vietnamese were behind the "killing fields"?[/QUOTE]
That is a very interesting question. I also have read some unverified Cambodian sources that accuse Vietnam as the ONE behind the killing fields. Let us just wait and see the displays of the evidence in the upcoming trial of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders against humanity. However, I like to tell you clearly about the composition of the Khmer Rouge. The members of the Khmer Rouge were made up of two groups: The Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Cambodians and the Cambodian student Paris Group. Hanoi supported, funded and supplied the Khmer Rouge to take over Cambodia. So yes it is true that some Khmer Rouge did indeed speak more fluent Vietnamese than their native Khmer language. Now if the Vietnamese-speaking Khmer Rouge killed innocent Cambodian people, does that mean that Vietnam was behind the order? Now it gets into a complex issue of the Vietnamese involvement within the Khmer Rouge internal affairs. I also want to tell you that the Khmer Rouge made up of the Cambodian student Paris group sided with the China and tried to PURGE all of the Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge. However, the Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge RAN BACK to Vietnam and brought back the Vietnamese troops with them to drive out the Khmer Rouge of the Paris Student Group out of Cambodia for good. In fact the ruling party of Cambodia right now is of the Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge supported by Vietnam during the invasion of Cambodia in in 1979. Every time those Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge commemorate their party, they talk gloriously of the time they were united with their old Vietnamese comrades and supported by the Ho Chi Minh in the 50's to fight against the French out of "IndoChina". If you go deeper, you will also see that even the Thais supported the Cambodian group called "Khmer Issarak" to fight the French out of Cambodia. The saddest part is that the Viets and the Thais ONLY helped the Cambodians to fight off the French so that they could EASILY take over Cambodia. Look at the current Cambodian border situation. From the West, the Thais keep pushing in on the Cambodian borders and from the South, the Vietnamese keep pushing on the Cambodian borders further and further in. Surprisingly, even the landlocked country of Laos also pushes against the border of Cambodia along the Cambodia-Lao side. So was Vietnam behind the Killing field? We have to wait for the presentation of the evidence at the international trial of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders. Until then, the only thing we can do is to mourn for the Cambodian humanity and promise them that some day their justice will be found.
[QUOTE]5. Were the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge friends or enemies?[/QUOTE]
At the beginning the group called the "Khmer Rouge" were friends of the Vietnamese. However, after the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge faction of the Paris Student group started to keep their distance from Vietnam and moved closer to China instead. However, the Vietnamese-speaking, Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge are still friends of Vietnam and the Vietnamese helped them become rulers of Cambodia right now.
[QUOTE]6. Do you believe the Vietnamese owe Kampuchea an apology for using its territory to wage war against the Americans and its allies?[/QUOTE]
YES and absolutely. The Cambodian HOUSE was not on fire at all when the Vietnamese from the North and South were playing their war games with each other. However, instead of keeping their games to their sides, the Vietnamese had to play hide and seek in the Cambodian sides. The mouse and cat games of the Vietnamese and the Americans really really interrupted, uprooted and messed up the livelihoods, peace, progress, and the sovereignty of Cambodia. YES, Vietnam needs to apologize for dragging innocent Cambodia into the Vietnam War games.
[QUOTE]7. Do you think Kampuchea gave up its claim to the land in Southern Vietnam when its leader invited the French over to manage the country?[/QUOTE]
Now now, when you pose a BIASED question and put words in the Cambodian mouths like that, I don't like you even a bit!!!!! If you don't know anything about the relationship between the French and the Cambodians, then please do me a favor, just ask a very innocent neutral question, is that possible? Now I don't even want to talk to you any more!!!!! The Cambodians NEVER asked the French to MANAGE the country for them. So there get your fact straight!. In addition, the Cambodians NEVER GAVE UP the claims to the Kampuchea Krom (the mekong delta in South Vietnam). The fact is that the Cambodians asked the French to PROTECT Cambodia against the abusive aggressive barbaric Vietnamese soldier-settlers and the Thai advancement. In addition, the Cambodians explicitly told the FRENCH COLONISTS not to take any territory ceded by the Vietnamese in South Vietnam because all of those territories still belonged to the Cambodians. In fact, Cambodia sent in her very own troops to support the French colonists to fought the Vietnamese in Southern Vietnam, hoping that those territories would be returned to Mother Cambodia again. That was why the French COLONISTS made South Vietnam or Kampuchea Krom its SPECIAL FRENCH COLNOLY, not protectorates like those of Cambodia, Annam and one more part of Vietnam, and Laos. So get your fact straight!!!!! The Vietnamese sources keep claiming that Southern Vietnam was ceded to the Vietnamese soldier-settlers by a Khmer King who had a Vietnamese wife. That is a complete BULL$hit!!!! THAT referenced Khmer King NEVER CEDED an inch of the Khmer ancestral land to the Vietnamese settlers at all. His Majesty the Khmer King HAD ONLY ALLOWED the Vietnamese settlers or followers of his Vietnamese wife to SETTLE within the Khmer territories. THAT WAS ALL. His Majesty EVEN ALLOWED his Vietnamese "father-in-law" (King of Vietnam or whatever) to TAX those Vietnamese settlers in the Khmer territories also. So that is the fact. However, the Vietnamese soldier-settlers kept on pushing and squeezing the Khmer people out and out until the Khmer had no more access to their ancestral seas. Then the Chinese immigrants came and took part of Kampuchea Krom for the Viets as well. That is the saddest part. Who would have known that the Chinese could dismember part of Cambodia for the Viets to rule. That is the saddest part.
[QUOTE]8. Do you think Vietnam should just give the land back to Kampuchea after Vietnam kicked the French's A S S?[/QUOTE]
Again, you are VERY BIASED indeed. I am beginning to develop a sense of sickness at YOU right now!!!! Why don't you get your facts straight for once. Why do you think that I think that Vietnam should JUST give the Cambodians anything in the first place. You are a Vietnamese and you should already know about your very own immoral greedy treacherous nature better than anyone. The Vietnamese starting with THAT Vietnamese wife of a Khmer King and her Vietnamese backstabbing "royal" father had already STOLEN lands from the Khmer King. Then the Vietnamese kept on expanding and take more and more of the Khmer territories. It is happening right now. The same history is repeating right now. Why don't you read the news or something about the relentless border pushing by the Vietnamese soldiers and their families on the territories of Cambodia. So the Cambodians DON'T EVER THINK that the LARGER ABUSIVE VIETNAM will give anything stolen from the Cambodians back to Cambodia. However, the so-called country called Vietnam was DIVIDED into three parts by the FRENCH. Annam and another part were called protectorates by the French. Southern Vietnam or CoChinChina was exclusively a FRENCH COLONY. So what part of Vietnam did the Vietnamese kick the French out? The Vietnamese only kicked the French out of Annam, not CoChinChina. If the Vietnamese were able to kick the AZZES of the FRENCH out of the CoChinChina, then why was the WHOLE country of Vietnam got divided INTO Northern part and Southern part for? In fact it takes years later before the Vietnamese who KICKED the AZZES of the French were able to unite both parts of Vietnam into ONE country today. Talking about kicking the French out, what about Cambodia? While the Vietnamese had to shed blood with the French, the Cambodians just told the French to get out and the French complied and the Cambodians even got their independence BEFORE the Viets. So since the Cambodians KICKED THE AZZES of the FRENCH out of Cambodia first, shouldn't the French RETURN their COLONY of CoChinChina (Cambodian land) to Cambodia instead of Annam?
[QUOTE]9. Do you think the land in Southern Vietnam was the "spoils of war" after the Vietnamese defeated the French?[/QUOTE]
I don't know exactly the composition of the territories of the place called Southern Vietnam. However, the defeated French should grant ALL the Khmer ancestral territories INDEPENDENT and rule the the Khmer people, not by the Vietnamese. However, before they were defeated, the French COLONISTS made a deal with the Southern Vietnamese to fight against the Northern Vietnamese for the JOINT control of the French COLONY of Southern Vietnam. Actually the Southern Vietnamese didn't do a good job helping the French either as both of them were defeated by the North Vietnamese in Annam. Hahah. However, the defeated French decided to leave by granting South Vietnam and North Vietnam independence statuses. The Khmer Krom people were hoping that the French would grant them independence status when the French left, but the French ceded the Khmer territories to the Southern Vietnamse rule. This was the same thing when the leaders of the free world in WWII decided to ceded three states in Eastern Europe to the control of the abusive muderous Soviet Unions. Only until recently that those three eastern European states got freed from the yoke of the Soviet Unions. So I wish for the same fate with the Kampuchea Krom. I wish that the Vietnam leadership would let the Khmer people determine their own destiny just like the Soviets let those eastern Europeans free.
[QUOTE]10. Do you have any direct knowledge of Vietnamese soldiers abusing Cambodian civilians during the occupation?[/QUOTE]
I don't have any direct knowledge, but there is plenty of evidence documenting the Vietnamese atrocities against the Cambodian civilians during the occupation years. For example there is the well-known Vietnamese genocidal K-5 Plan. There is evidence the Vietnamese troops abusing the Khmer people accused of supporting the resistance forces. There is also various evidence about the Vietnamese jailing, killing off, and abusing the SUSPECTING patriotic Cambodians who refused the Vietnamese evil designs for Cambodia. There is evidence of Vietnamese troops protecting their fellow Vietnamese settlers who took land from the Cambodian owners. The Viet soldiers also ALLOWED only their fellow Viet settlers into lucrative economic niches. There is evidence of Vietnamese troops who dragged out the Cambodian pet dogs and meat animals such as hens, ducks, pigs, and cows to kill for their food without asking the the Cambodian owners. In some cases there were also evidence of Vietnamese soldiers raping the Khmer women and young girls. The Vietnamese soldiers stationing along the roads were well-known to ALWAYS request for Khmer young girls to take care of. Whenever, the Viets see different Khmer families passing them by, they would ask the parents for the permission to adopt one or two of the girls. That is SICK!
[QUOTE]11. Where were you during the occupation?[/QUOTE]
I was in my province near the Thai border.
[QUOTE]12. What political group in Kampuchea do you identify yourself with?[/QUOTE]
Non. Just peace and prosperity. Any political party that can lead Cambodia to peace, independence and progress I am for it. I am not for the ruling party composed of the Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge right now. That is for sure.
[QUOTE]13. Who do you think is the worse enemy of Kampuchea, Thailand or Vietnam?[/QUOTE]
We have to look at the evidence. Both countries of Vietnam and Thailand are still the enemies of Cambodia. Thailand is very good at coming in and destroying the Cambodian natural resources, pushing on the Khmer borders, and abusing and killing the Khmer migrant workers in their country. In addition, Thailand is good at teaching their people to look down on the Cambodians too. Vietnam is the biggest enemy right now. Vietnam continues not to give up the land and sea territories taken from Cambodia during its rule of Cambodian in 1979. During that time Vietnam signed away Cambodian sea rights to Thailand. In addition, Vietnam continues to allow the illegal Vietnamese immigrants to flow into Cambodia to exploit the Cambodian natural resources and other social economic opportunities. The Vietnamese soldiers and their families along the Cambodian borders still keep moving into the Cambodian sides of the border and beating up the Cambodian farmers and preventing the Cambodians to farm on their own Khmer land. Even Laos now is giving Cambodian abusive attitude. The Laotian soldiers now even forbid and prevent the Cambodians from enjoying their livelihoods in their Khmer areas near the Laotian border.
[QUOTE]14. During Lon Nol's reign, thousands of people with Vietnamese ancestry in Kampuchea were killed simply because they were vietnamese even though some don't even speak Vietnamese. Do you believe the killing were justified?[/QUOTE]
First of all, I want YOU and ESPECIALLY YOU to understand WHAT Cambodians are really about! WE WERE THE KINDEST OF ALL the PEOPLE who ALLOWED people like the Thais, the Laotians, the Viets, the Chams, and the Chinese and others to SETTLE and make homes for themselves in our territories. Honoring human life and being helpful to others in troubles are what the CAMBODIANS are about. So YES WE CAMBODIANS DON'T EVER CONDONE THE KILLING OF ANY INNOCENT MEMBER OF ANY DISTINCT ETHNIC GROUP IN CAMBODIA. Regarding the Killings of the Vietnamese in Cambodia by Lon NOL, you need to seek the causes of it all. DON'T YOU ever dare PROJECT what LON NOL DID to the Vietnamese onto the general Cambodians. The question is why did Lon Nol did what he did to the Vietnamese? What criteria did he used? What rationale was behind this killing madness?
The relationship between Vietnamese and Cambodians has repeatedly shown that the Vietnamese have always been the first ONES to draw the blood of the Cambodians.
Who started the barbaric of killing of the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam? It was the Vietnamese colonists.
Who abused, burned alive, and killed the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam? It was the Vietnamese leader(s).
Who started killing the innocent Cambodian villagers during the Vietnam War? It was the South Vietnamese troops.
Then along came Lon Nol who succeeded in getting rid of Prince Sihanouk. Both Lon Nol and South Vietnamse leader(s) were on the side of the Americans. Both killed communist Vietnamese. Americans also killed Vietnamese villagers who refused to collaborate with them. Lon Nol killed the Vietnamese in Cambodia because he classified them as Vietnamese communist sympathizers. Both the South Vietnamese and the Americans did not even intervene in Lon Nol's barbaric acts towards Cambodia's ethnic Vietnamese. My family was one of the many who SHIELDED and HID some Vietnamese from being killed during the Lon Nol regime. However, the saddest part is that while the South Vietnamese and Lon Nol enjoyed killing the Vietnamese communist sympathizers, according to one internet article, as long as the Lon Nol carried out his killings against the Vietnamese in Cambodia, the South Vietnamese pilots kept on intensifying the shooting at the Cambodian targets (not communist Vietnamese troops) inside Cambodia. According to the article, even the American generals commented that the Vietnamese did have some ISSUES with the Cambodians. So in the end, the Cambodians died more at the hands of the Vietnamese.
[QUOTE]15. During the Khmer Rouge's reign, the Vietnamese who lived in Kampuchea (many had been there for generations) were "removed". Do you think the "removals" were justified?[/QUOTE]
It is true that the Khmer Rouge did expell the Vietnamese from Cambodia. It was the same thing with the Vietnamese expelling the ethnic Chinese from Vietnam. To my knowledge, the ethnic Vietnamese had never been a part of the Khmer larger family or society. Those Vietnamese living in Cambodia were brought in by the French years ago. The first wave of the Vietnamese who followed the Vietnamese woman married to a Khmer King already took over the Khmer territories and squeezed the Khmer people out from their homeland in South Vietnam. The various waves of Vietnamese immigrants brought by the French into Cambodia were also made to RULE and WALK on the Cambodians at the time. According to the evidence, the Vietnamese during the French colonial period were the most free of all the subjugated colonial subjects. In French colonial Cambodia, Vietnamese immigrants worked side by side with the French managing Cambodia and heavily taxing the Cambodians to fund the development projects in Southern Vietnam (CoChinChina). During the French colonial regime, the Vietnamese walked over the Cambodians in every important areas ranging from the fields of education, econmics, politics, and finances. After the French left, the Vietnamese continued to be just themselves. By Cambodian laws, they were just Vietnamese serving the interests of Vietnam. They were forever foreigners. They were so unlike the Chinese who can mix the local Khmer population. So what do I think about the Khmer Rouge's romoval of the Vietnamese? I think that any foreign elements that will affect the prosperity and internal affairs of Cambodia need to go away from Cambodia.
[QUOTE]16. Have you ever heard of Cambodian civilians being killed by Vietnamese simply because they were Cambodians?[/QUOTE]
Hmmmm, just because of they were Cambodians? Hmmmm. Isn't that a crime against humanity to do that? I am not sure so I will just say that I don't know. However, on this website, on Aug 4 2005, 04:23 PM GotPho wrote this: "even if u flity khmer n chams teamed up u wont stand a chance..why dont u mother fu-ker try to team up on us right now and we would still be able to kill you all..vietnam would be a hero if we killed all the dirty khmers in this world..amen." There are other Vietnamese as well who express their deep online hatred and dehumanization against the Cambodians. So I think some IRRATIONAL CRAZED Vietnamese do in fact hate the Cambodians for no reasons and for the fact that the Cambodians are just Cambodians. However then we are talking about two different things: HATING and KILLING. I do know that the former South Vietnamese government implemented a national dehumanization policy against the Khmer people in South Vietnam. Stripping off the Khmer identity from the Khmer natives was like a cool Vietnamese thing or something. If you turn the table around, Cambodians don't go around killing the Vietnamese just because they are born Vietnamese either. Like I have explained to you already that the French made the Vietnamese immigrants SUPERIOR to the Cambodians and the Vietnamese themselves liked to bash the Cambodians. And the Vietnamse themselves never made themselves a part of the larger Khmer society. The Vietnamese also competed with the Khmer for the limited Khmer natural resources, so I think that WAS why the Khmer in general hated the Vietnamese in Cambodia. This is just to say only a few of the undesirable characteristics of the Vietnamese in Cambodia. There are more of course.
[QUOTE]17. Have you ever heard of any Vietnamese (this forum's participants excluded) advocating the killing of Cambodians simply because they are Cambodians?[/QUOTE]
This is always a possibility. So I don't know. I actually find it suprising to learn about the intimate negative views of the Vietnamese towards the Cambodians from the white people who learned it from their Vietnamese friends. Hahhah.
[QUOTE]18. Do you hate or love (or don't care about) Pol Pot?[/QUOTE]
I HATE HIM and PRAY THAT HE WILL BE IN HELL FOR ETERNITY.
[QUOTE]19. Are any of your friends or families victims of Pol Pot?[/QUOTE]
YES. LOTS OF THEM.
[QUOTE]20. Are you a supporter of Pol Pot?[/QUOTE]
HATE HIS BAD TREATMENT OF HIS OWN KHMER PEOPLE and the destruction of the Khmer society and culture. REGARDING HIS FOREIGN POLICY, I NEED TO reserve judgement.
[QUOTE]21. If Campuchea were much more powerful than Vietnam, what do you think it would do?[/QUOTE]
Cambodia are much more powerful than a number of countries in the world already and I don't ever see Cambodia do anything to them, except being a friend to all of them. Compare Cambodia to the country of Lao for example after the French left IndoChina, the Cambodians offered a helping hand to their Laotian neighbors by offering scholarships to the Laotian students to come to learn in Cambodia's higher learning institutions. The Cambodians also allow the Laotians to gain access to the Cambodian bodies of fresh and salt water so that the Laotians can trade and improve their economy and livelihoods. The Cambodians allow all their ethnic minorities to flourish and maintain their cultural identities as long as they respect the Khmer dominant culture and society. So I think the powerful Cambodia will be a friend to all its neighbors and will always be a helping hand. Even as weak and as small as it is now, the immigrants from the powerful Vietnam still flow into the Kingdom of Cambodia. That is ironic. So this clearly says that if Cambodia is attractive even when it is dirt poor, then how more it will be attractive when it becomes RICH and POWERFUL.
[QUOTE]I'd like more information regarding the situations of Cambodian civilians during the occupation. [/QUOTE]
OKIE DOKIE
[QUOTE]What were the treatments of Vietnamese soldiers towards civilians?[/QUOTE]
The answer to your first question will vary as there were many different "zones" that the Viet troops crossed or positioned. I did hear about rape cases by some undisciplined, naughty unruly Viet soldiers towards some attractive Khmer women. In my zone, the Viet troops kept their profiles very low. We rarely saw them except once in awhile when they marched in a column. We also saw them Viet troops go fish trapping and collecting watergrass.
[quote]How did Cambodians view the occupation?[/QUOTE]
Like other independent proud freedom-loving people, the Cambodians first welcomed the Viet liberators. However when the Vietnamese OVERSTAYED their welcome, the memories of the millions wrongs the Viets did against the Khmer were revoked and the age-old hatred began to grow within the hearts of the Khmer and they wanted the Viets to get the hell out of Cambodia before the whole country got messed up forevermore and dismembered.
[QUOTE]Did the Vietnamese come to save them (Cambodians), to remove a regime they don't like (the Khmer Rouge), to simply occupy Kampuchea as other Vietnamese had done in the past, or to take more land by force?[/QUOTE]
It is very easy to answer this question and the clear answers come from the distinctive realities of the Viet leadership and the Khmer ordinary people.
To the Vietnamese leadership, it was a MUST that Vietnam must invade Cambodia in order to prevent the Chinese presence near their southern borders. One Vietnamese leader by the name of Nguyen Co Thach clearly stated that Vietnam had never concerned themselves with the Cambodian issue of human rights AT ALL. So clearly, the Vietnamse troops DID NOT come to SAVE the Cambodians at all. The Viets came to REMOVE the Khmer Rouge out of power. In addition, the Viets EVEN ALLOWED the Khmer Rouge to RETREAT and to RECOUPERATE to fight back. The communist Viets and the Khmer Rouge were former friends and allies who fought side by side and shoulder by shoulder against the Americans and their allies. However, to the overworked, hopeless dying Khmer people, when the Viet troops showed up, they were OVERJOYED that finally somebody could actually overwhelmed the ruthless Khmer Rouge troops. The Khmer people hated the Khmer Rouge troops that they helped the Vietnamese troops killed those Khmer Rouge soldiers themselves. In addition, the Khmer people pointed the various hideouts and strongholes of the Khmer Rouge unknown to the moving unsuspecting Viet troops.
[QUOTE]I also like to hear from Khmers who live/had lived in present-day southern Vietnam. [/QUOTE]
I am not a Southern Khmer or Khmer Krom so...
[QUOTE]What is the relationship between Khmers and Vietnamese in that region. [/QUOTE]
I personally think that it is not a very good one considering the fact of the equality issue. Too many Khmer natives are trapped in illiteracy and poverty compounded by the language and the cultural differences.
[QUOTE]What kind of treatment does the Vietnamese government extend to the Khmers. [/QUOTE]
The Vietnamese institutional discriminatory policies are desinged to keep the Khmer natives down and at the margin of the larger Vietnamese society. How many prominent Khmer Krom people are there in Vietnam after these many years of the Vietnamese occupation of the Khmer land? So the evidence is clear.
[QUOTE]The suppresion of religious practices should not be mentioned to show that Khmers are mistreated because the Vietnamese government suppresses all religious practices regardless of ethnic background. [/QUOTE]
Actually, the suppression of the Khmer identity, language, cultural and religious practices were started way before Southern Vietnam became communist. The oppression and suppression on the Khmer people got intensified under the Vietnamese communist regime.
[QUOTE]Were/are there any anti-Khmer rhetorics coming from Vietnamese officials in that region? [/QUOTE]
The evidence shows that the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam have no access to the Vietnamese discrimatory system of social, educational, or public services.
What about this superiority complex of Vietnamese towards Cambodians (participants of this forum excluded)?
Superiority complex? Hmmm isn't that vice versa?
Well I can only tell you from a Cambodian from Cambodia. You should know the superiority complex of the Cambodians towards the Vietnamese. Ask the Vietnamese immigrants or settlers in Cambodia and they will tell you. Hahahaha.
[QUOTE]The light-skin vs. dark-skin issue should be discussed. [/QUOTE]
Again from a Cambodian from Cambodia, Skin is skin and it is a natural defense for the human owner to adapt to a certain geographical region. I don't think the Khmer view their skin color as inferior to the light skin color of the Viets. The Khmer always have something to show off to the world in terms of world renown achievements. In fact, in Cambodia, the light-skinned Viets are at the bottom of the food chain living in the underworld. So I don't think skin is the issue. If the Viets think that their light skin afford them more attention than the Khmer, then that is just limited to the Viets only. The Khmer have their own perception of beauty: The Khmer ideal beatiful good look is that of the northern Indian type, not the oriental type. Hahahahha.
[QUOTE]The story of Vietnamese soldiers several hundred years ago using live Cambodians buried in sand to boil water for tea should also be discussed. [/QUOTE]
Yes, I heard about this Vietnamese atrocity even in Cambodia to remind all the Cambodians to stand guard against the evil hearts of the Vietnamese trespassers.
[QUOTE]I heard of the story from a western source pointed out by another Vietnamese member that says this story first originated during the reign of Lon Nol. [/QUOTE]
Huh? This story was in the Cambodian history book and it was part of the Cambodian oral history long before that leader named Lon Nol was anything.
[QUOTE]I think the story would be more credible if it is heard from forum members with Khmer background who lived or had lived in southern Vietnam. Please indicate where and when you first heard of the story. It's a lot more credible if you heard it from your parents who heard it from their parents and so on. There will be more questions to come. [/QUOTE]
The Khmer source says that the barbaric atrocity of the Vietnamese against the subjugated Khmer people in Southern Vietnam started with the digging of the Vinh Te Canal project. So there I just give you the source. Even one Vietnamese author name Nguyen-Hong said that under the harsh rule of the Vietnamese, the Khmer Krom people suffered a lot in term of everything as human beings.
[QUOTE]Thanks in advance for your serious reply.[/QUOTE]
Glad to be of help to you.
[QUOTE]1. What would Kampuchea be like had the Khmer Rouge not attacked Vietnam which resulted in their loss of power?[/QUOTE]
Evidence shows that in less than just 4 years, the Khmer Rouge already brought progressive Cambodia back to the stone age. So I think it would take a very long time for the Khmer Rouge to REBUILD Cambodia back up again. Thus, I mean Cambodia would not have the international standard, even though during the Khmer Rouge era, there was no poverty or unemployment.
[QUOTE]2. Do you think the invasion of the Vietnamese in 79 was justified or was it a good thing or bad thing?[/QUOTE]
This question has a similar meaning as an economy opportunity. The hopeless, overworked starving Khmer people were already hoping for any intervention from anybody so when the Viet troops showed up to confronted the ruthless Khmer Rouge troops, they really rooted for the Viet troops as LIBERATORS initially. In my own personal opinion, the Viet intervention was a GOOD DEED viewed from the Khmer people for the initial brief period. However, the Khmer ALSO understood the true INTENTION of Vietnam in its mission to OCCUPY Cambodia. So to the Khmer people, Vietnam never abandons its abusive, treacherous, backstabbing personality towards Cambodia. So the INVASION was a good thing, but the OCCUPATION for 10 long years was an EVIL thing. If you put a good thing and an Evil thing together, Vietnam will always remain EVIL and unchanging in the views of the Khmer people.
[QUOTE]3. Do you think the Vietnamese would have invaded Kampuchea even if the Khmer Rouge had not attacked Vietnam?[/QUOTE]
I also have a question of my own. I have always wondered why did the Khmer Rouge decide to challenge the Vietnamese troops in the first place? I read an analysis of the Cambodian history during the Khmer Rouge regime by a well-known news writer, and he said that both Vietnam and Cambodia could not escape the geopolitics played by the superpowers Soviet Unions, China, and the United States at the time. He said when it was all said an done, it was Cambodia ALONE who got suffered the MOST. That is the saddest part. So yes, Vietnam would have invaded Kampuchea regardless of the Khmer Rouge's border attack or not.
[QUOTE]4. Do you think the Vietnamese were behind the "killing fields"?[/QUOTE]
That is a very interesting question. I also have read some unverified Cambodian sources that accuse Vietnam as the ONE behind the killing fields. Let us just wait and see the displays of the evidence in the upcoming trial of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders against humanity. However, I like to tell you clearly about the composition of the Khmer Rouge. The members of the Khmer Rouge were made up of two groups: The Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Cambodians and the Cambodian student Paris Group. Hanoi supported, funded and supplied the Khmer Rouge to take over Cambodia. So yes it is true that some Khmer Rouge did indeed speak more fluent Vietnamese than their native Khmer language. Now if the Vietnamese-speaking Khmer Rouge killed innocent Cambodian people, does that mean that Vietnam was behind the order? Now it gets into a complex issue of the Vietnamese involvement within the Khmer Rouge internal affairs. I also want to tell you that the Khmer Rouge made up of the Cambodian student Paris group sided with the China and tried to PURGE all of the Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge. However, the Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge RAN BACK to Vietnam and brought back the Vietnamese troops with them to drive out the Khmer Rouge of the Paris Student Group out of Cambodia for good. In fact the ruling party of Cambodia right now is of the Vietnamese-speaking Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge supported by Vietnam during the invasion of Cambodia in in 1979. Every time those Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge commemorate their party, they talk gloriously of the time they were united with their old Vietnamese comrades and supported by the Ho Chi Minh in the 50's to fight against the French out of "IndoChina". If you go deeper, you will also see that even the Thais supported the Cambodian group called "Khmer Issarak" to fight the French out of Cambodia. The saddest part is that the Viets and the Thais ONLY helped the Cambodians to fight off the French so that they could EASILY take over Cambodia. Look at the current Cambodian border situation. From the West, the Thais keep pushing in on the Cambodian borders and from the South, the Vietnamese keep pushing on the Cambodian borders further and further in. Surprisingly, even the landlocked country of Laos also pushes against the border of Cambodia along the Cambodia-Lao side. So was Vietnam behind the Killing field? We have to wait for the presentation of the evidence at the international trial of the surviving Khmer Rouge leaders. Until then, the only thing we can do is to mourn for the Cambodian humanity and promise them that some day their justice will be found.
[QUOTE]5. Were the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge friends or enemies?[/QUOTE]
At the beginning the group called the "Khmer Rouge" were friends of the Vietnamese. However, after the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge faction of the Paris Student group started to keep their distance from Vietnam and moved closer to China instead. However, the Vietnamese-speaking, Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge are still friends of Vietnam and the Vietnamese helped them become rulers of Cambodia right now.
[QUOTE]6. Do you believe the Vietnamese owe Kampuchea an apology for using its territory to wage war against the Americans and its allies?[/QUOTE]
YES and absolutely. The Cambodian HOUSE was not on fire at all when the Vietnamese from the North and South were playing their war games with each other. However, instead of keeping their games to their sides, the Vietnamese had to play hide and seek in the Cambodian sides. The mouse and cat games of the Vietnamese and the Americans really really interrupted, uprooted and messed up the livelihoods, peace, progress, and the sovereignty of Cambodia. YES, Vietnam needs to apologize for dragging innocent Cambodia into the Vietnam War games.
[QUOTE]7. Do you think Kampuchea gave up its claim to the land in Southern Vietnam when its leader invited the French over to manage the country?[/QUOTE]
Now now, when you pose a BIASED question and put words in the Cambodian mouths like that, I don't like you even a bit!!!!! If you don't know anything about the relationship between the French and the Cambodians, then please do me a favor, just ask a very innocent neutral question, is that possible? Now I don't even want to talk to you any more!!!!! The Cambodians NEVER asked the French to MANAGE the country for them. So there get your fact straight!. In addition, the Cambodians NEVER GAVE UP the claims to the Kampuchea Krom (the mekong delta in South Vietnam). The fact is that the Cambodians asked the French to PROTECT Cambodia against the abusive aggressive barbaric Vietnamese soldier-settlers and the Thai advancement. In addition, the Cambodians explicitly told the FRENCH COLONISTS not to take any territory ceded by the Vietnamese in South Vietnam because all of those territories still belonged to the Cambodians. In fact, Cambodia sent in her very own troops to support the French colonists to fought the Vietnamese in Southern Vietnam, hoping that those territories would be returned to Mother Cambodia again. That was why the French COLONISTS made South Vietnam or Kampuchea Krom its SPECIAL FRENCH COLNOLY, not protectorates like those of Cambodia, Annam and one more part of Vietnam, and Laos. So get your fact straight!!!!! The Vietnamese sources keep claiming that Southern Vietnam was ceded to the Vietnamese soldier-settlers by a Khmer King who had a Vietnamese wife. That is a complete BULL$hit!!!! THAT referenced Khmer King NEVER CEDED an inch of the Khmer ancestral land to the Vietnamese settlers at all. His Majesty the Khmer King HAD ONLY ALLOWED the Vietnamese settlers or followers of his Vietnamese wife to SETTLE within the Khmer territories. THAT WAS ALL. His Majesty EVEN ALLOWED his Vietnamese "father-in-law" (King of Vietnam or whatever) to TAX those Vietnamese settlers in the Khmer territories also. So that is the fact. However, the Vietnamese soldier-settlers kept on pushing and squeezing the Khmer people out and out until the Khmer had no more access to their ancestral seas. Then the Chinese immigrants came and took part of Kampuchea Krom for the Viets as well. That is the saddest part. Who would have known that the Chinese could dismember part of Cambodia for the Viets to rule. That is the saddest part.
[QUOTE]8. Do you think Vietnam should just give the land back to Kampuchea after Vietnam kicked the French's A S S?[/QUOTE]
Again, you are VERY BIASED indeed. I am beginning to develop a sense of sickness at YOU right now!!!! Why don't you get your facts straight for once. Why do you think that I think that Vietnam should JUST give the Cambodians anything in the first place. You are a Vietnamese and you should already know about your very own immoral greedy treacherous nature better than anyone. The Vietnamese starting with THAT Vietnamese wife of a Khmer King and her Vietnamese backstabbing "royal" father had already STOLEN lands from the Khmer King. Then the Vietnamese kept on expanding and take more and more of the Khmer territories. It is happening right now. The same history is repeating right now. Why don't you read the news or something about the relentless border pushing by the Vietnamese soldiers and their families on the territories of Cambodia. So the Cambodians DON'T EVER THINK that the LARGER ABUSIVE VIETNAM will give anything stolen from the Cambodians back to Cambodia. However, the so-called country called Vietnam was DIVIDED into three parts by the FRENCH. Annam and another part were called protectorates by the French. Southern Vietnam or CoChinChina was exclusively a FRENCH COLONY. So what part of Vietnam did the Vietnamese kick the French out? The Vietnamese only kicked the French out of Annam, not CoChinChina. If the Vietnamese were able to kick the AZZES of the FRENCH out of the CoChinChina, then why was the WHOLE country of Vietnam got divided INTO Northern part and Southern part for? In fact it takes years later before the Vietnamese who KICKED the AZZES of the French were able to unite both parts of Vietnam into ONE country today. Talking about kicking the French out, what about Cambodia? While the Vietnamese had to shed blood with the French, the Cambodians just told the French to get out and the French complied and the Cambodians even got their independence BEFORE the Viets. So since the Cambodians KICKED THE AZZES of the FRENCH out of Cambodia first, shouldn't the French RETURN their COLONY of CoChinChina (Cambodian land) to Cambodia instead of Annam?
[QUOTE]9. Do you think the land in Southern Vietnam was the "spoils of war" after the Vietnamese defeated the French?[/QUOTE]
I don't know exactly the composition of the territories of the place called Southern Vietnam. However, the defeated French should grant ALL the Khmer ancestral territories INDEPENDENT and rule the the Khmer people, not by the Vietnamese. However, before they were defeated, the French COLONISTS made a deal with the Southern Vietnamese to fight against the Northern Vietnamese for the JOINT control of the French COLONY of Southern Vietnam. Actually the Southern Vietnamese didn't do a good job helping the French either as both of them were defeated by the North Vietnamese in Annam. Hahah. However, the defeated French decided to leave by granting South Vietnam and North Vietnam independence statuses. The Khmer Krom people were hoping that the French would grant them independence status when the French left, but the French ceded the Khmer territories to the Southern Vietnamse rule. This was the same thing when the leaders of the free world in WWII decided to ceded three states in Eastern Europe to the control of the abusive muderous Soviet Unions. Only until recently that those three eastern European states got freed from the yoke of the Soviet Unions. So I wish for the same fate with the Kampuchea Krom. I wish that the Vietnam leadership would let the Khmer people determine their own destiny just like the Soviets let those eastern Europeans free.
[QUOTE]10. Do you have any direct knowledge of Vietnamese soldiers abusing Cambodian civilians during the occupation?[/QUOTE]
I don't have any direct knowledge, but there is plenty of evidence documenting the Vietnamese atrocities against the Cambodian civilians during the occupation years. For example there is the well-known Vietnamese genocidal K-5 Plan. There is evidence the Vietnamese troops abusing the Khmer people accused of supporting the resistance forces. There is also various evidence about the Vietnamese jailing, killing off, and abusing the SUSPECTING patriotic Cambodians who refused the Vietnamese evil designs for Cambodia. There is evidence of Vietnamese troops protecting their fellow Vietnamese settlers who took land from the Cambodian owners. The Viet soldiers also ALLOWED only their fellow Viet settlers into lucrative economic niches. There is evidence of Vietnamese troops who dragged out the Cambodian pet dogs and meat animals such as hens, ducks, pigs, and cows to kill for their food without asking the the Cambodian owners. In some cases there were also evidence of Vietnamese soldiers raping the Khmer women and young girls. The Vietnamese soldiers stationing along the roads were well-known to ALWAYS request for Khmer young girls to take care of. Whenever, the Viets see different Khmer families passing them by, they would ask the parents for the permission to adopt one or two of the girls. That is SICK!
[QUOTE]11. Where were you during the occupation?[/QUOTE]
I was in my province near the Thai border.
[QUOTE]12. What political group in Kampuchea do you identify yourself with?[/QUOTE]
Non. Just peace and prosperity. Any political party that can lead Cambodia to peace, independence and progress I am for it. I am not for the ruling party composed of the Hanoi-trained Khmer Rouge right now. That is for sure.
[QUOTE]13. Who do you think is the worse enemy of Kampuchea, Thailand or Vietnam?[/QUOTE]
We have to look at the evidence. Both countries of Vietnam and Thailand are still the enemies of Cambodia. Thailand is very good at coming in and destroying the Cambodian natural resources, pushing on the Khmer borders, and abusing and killing the Khmer migrant workers in their country. In addition, Thailand is good at teaching their people to look down on the Cambodians too. Vietnam is the biggest enemy right now. Vietnam continues not to give up the land and sea territories taken from Cambodia during its rule of Cambodian in 1979. During that time Vietnam signed away Cambodian sea rights to Thailand. In addition, Vietnam continues to allow the illegal Vietnamese immigrants to flow into Cambodia to exploit the Cambodian natural resources and other social economic opportunities. The Vietnamese soldiers and their families along the Cambodian borders still keep moving into the Cambodian sides of the border and beating up the Cambodian farmers and preventing the Cambodians to farm on their own Khmer land. Even Laos now is giving Cambodian abusive attitude. The Laotian soldiers now even forbid and prevent the Cambodians from enjoying their livelihoods in their Khmer areas near the Laotian border.
[QUOTE]14. During Lon Nol's reign, thousands of people with Vietnamese ancestry in Kampuchea were killed simply because they were vietnamese even though some don't even speak Vietnamese. Do you believe the killing were justified?[/QUOTE]
First of all, I want YOU and ESPECIALLY YOU to understand WHAT Cambodians are really about! WE WERE THE KINDEST OF ALL the PEOPLE who ALLOWED people like the Thais, the Laotians, the Viets, the Chams, and the Chinese and others to SETTLE and make homes for themselves in our territories. Honoring human life and being helpful to others in troubles are what the CAMBODIANS are about. So YES WE CAMBODIANS DON'T EVER CONDONE THE KILLING OF ANY INNOCENT MEMBER OF ANY DISTINCT ETHNIC GROUP IN CAMBODIA. Regarding the Killings of the Vietnamese in Cambodia by Lon NOL, you need to seek the causes of it all. DON'T YOU ever dare PROJECT what LON NOL DID to the Vietnamese onto the general Cambodians. The question is why did Lon Nol did what he did to the Vietnamese? What criteria did he used? What rationale was behind this killing madness?
The relationship between Vietnamese and Cambodians has repeatedly shown that the Vietnamese have always been the first ONES to draw the blood of the Cambodians.
Who started the barbaric of killing of the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam? It was the Vietnamese colonists.
Who abused, burned alive, and killed the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam? It was the Vietnamese leader(s).
Who started killing the innocent Cambodian villagers during the Vietnam War? It was the South Vietnamese troops.
Then along came Lon Nol who succeeded in getting rid of Prince Sihanouk. Both Lon Nol and South Vietnamse leader(s) were on the side of the Americans. Both killed communist Vietnamese. Americans also killed Vietnamese villagers who refused to collaborate with them. Lon Nol killed the Vietnamese in Cambodia because he classified them as Vietnamese communist sympathizers. Both the South Vietnamese and the Americans did not even intervene in Lon Nol's barbaric acts towards Cambodia's ethnic Vietnamese. My family was one of the many who SHIELDED and HID some Vietnamese from being killed during the Lon Nol regime. However, the saddest part is that while the South Vietnamese and Lon Nol enjoyed killing the Vietnamese communist sympathizers, according to one internet article, as long as the Lon Nol carried out his killings against the Vietnamese in Cambodia, the South Vietnamese pilots kept on intensifying the shooting at the Cambodian targets (not communist Vietnamese troops) inside Cambodia. According to the article, even the American generals commented that the Vietnamese did have some ISSUES with the Cambodians. So in the end, the Cambodians died more at the hands of the Vietnamese.
[QUOTE]15. During the Khmer Rouge's reign, the Vietnamese who lived in Kampuchea (many had been there for generations) were "removed". Do you think the "removals" were justified?[/QUOTE]
It is true that the Khmer Rouge did expell the Vietnamese from Cambodia. It was the same thing with the Vietnamese expelling the ethnic Chinese from Vietnam. To my knowledge, the ethnic Vietnamese had never been a part of the Khmer larger family or society. Those Vietnamese living in Cambodia were brought in by the French years ago. The first wave of the Vietnamese who followed the Vietnamese woman married to a Khmer King already took over the Khmer territories and squeezed the Khmer people out from their homeland in South Vietnam. The various waves of Vietnamese immigrants brought by the French into Cambodia were also made to RULE and WALK on the Cambodians at the time. According to the evidence, the Vietnamese during the French colonial period were the most free of all the subjugated colonial subjects. In French colonial Cambodia, Vietnamese immigrants worked side by side with the French managing Cambodia and heavily taxing the Cambodians to fund the development projects in Southern Vietnam (CoChinChina). During the French colonial regime, the Vietnamese walked over the Cambodians in every important areas ranging from the fields of education, econmics, politics, and finances. After the French left, the Vietnamese continued to be just themselves. By Cambodian laws, they were just Vietnamese serving the interests of Vietnam. They were forever foreigners. They were so unlike the Chinese who can mix the local Khmer population. So what do I think about the Khmer Rouge's romoval of the Vietnamese? I think that any foreign elements that will affect the prosperity and internal affairs of Cambodia need to go away from Cambodia.
[QUOTE]16. Have you ever heard of Cambodian civilians being killed by Vietnamese simply because they were Cambodians?[/QUOTE]
Hmmmm, just because of they were Cambodians? Hmmmm. Isn't that a crime against humanity to do that? I am not sure so I will just say that I don't know. However, on this website, on Aug 4 2005, 04:23 PM GotPho wrote this: "even if u flity khmer n chams teamed up u wont stand a chance..why dont u mother fu-ker try to team up on us right now and we would still be able to kill you all..vietnam would be a hero if we killed all the dirty khmers in this world..amen." There are other Vietnamese as well who express their deep online hatred and dehumanization against the Cambodians. So I think some IRRATIONAL CRAZED Vietnamese do in fact hate the Cambodians for no reasons and for the fact that the Cambodians are just Cambodians. However then we are talking about two different things: HATING and KILLING. I do know that the former South Vietnamese government implemented a national dehumanization policy against the Khmer people in South Vietnam. Stripping off the Khmer identity from the Khmer natives was like a cool Vietnamese thing or something. If you turn the table around, Cambodians don't go around killing the Vietnamese just because they are born Vietnamese either. Like I have explained to you already that the French made the Vietnamese immigrants SUPERIOR to the Cambodians and the Vietnamese themselves liked to bash the Cambodians. And the Vietnamse themselves never made themselves a part of the larger Khmer society. The Vietnamese also competed with the Khmer for the limited Khmer natural resources, so I think that WAS why the Khmer in general hated the Vietnamese in Cambodia. This is just to say only a few of the undesirable characteristics of the Vietnamese in Cambodia. There are more of course.
[QUOTE]17. Have you ever heard of any Vietnamese (this forum's participants excluded) advocating the killing of Cambodians simply because they are Cambodians?[/QUOTE]
This is always a possibility. So I don't know. I actually find it suprising to learn about the intimate negative views of the Vietnamese towards the Cambodians from the white people who learned it from their Vietnamese friends. Hahhah.
[QUOTE]18. Do you hate or love (or don't care about) Pol Pot?[/QUOTE]
I HATE HIM and PRAY THAT HE WILL BE IN HELL FOR ETERNITY.
[QUOTE]19. Are any of your friends or families victims of Pol Pot?[/QUOTE]
YES. LOTS OF THEM.
[QUOTE]20. Are you a supporter of Pol Pot?[/QUOTE]
HATE HIS BAD TREATMENT OF HIS OWN KHMER PEOPLE and the destruction of the Khmer society and culture. REGARDING HIS FOREIGN POLICY, I NEED TO reserve judgement.
[QUOTE]21. If Campuchea were much more powerful than Vietnam, what do you think it would do?[/QUOTE]
Cambodia are much more powerful than a number of countries in the world already and I don't ever see Cambodia do anything to them, except being a friend to all of them. Compare Cambodia to the country of Lao for example after the French left IndoChina, the Cambodians offered a helping hand to their Laotian neighbors by offering scholarships to the Laotian students to come to learn in Cambodia's higher learning institutions. The Cambodians also allow the Laotians to gain access to the Cambodian bodies of fresh and salt water so that the Laotians can trade and improve their economy and livelihoods. The Cambodians allow all their ethnic minorities to flourish and maintain their cultural identities as long as they respect the Khmer dominant culture and society. So I think the powerful Cambodia will be a friend to all its neighbors and will always be a helping hand. Even as weak and as small as it is now, the immigrants from the powerful Vietnam still flow into the Kingdom of Cambodia. That is ironic. So this clearly says that if Cambodia is attractive even when it is dirt poor, then how more it will be attractive when it becomes RICH and POWERFUL.
[QUOTE]I'd like more information regarding the situations of Cambodian civilians during the occupation. [/QUOTE]
OKIE DOKIE
[QUOTE]What were the treatments of Vietnamese soldiers towards civilians?[/QUOTE]
The answer to your first question will vary as there were many different "zones" that the Viet troops crossed or positioned. I did hear about rape cases by some undisciplined, naughty unruly Viet soldiers towards some attractive Khmer women. In my zone, the Viet troops kept their profiles very low. We rarely saw them except once in awhile when they marched in a column. We also saw them Viet troops go fish trapping and collecting watergrass.
[quote]How did Cambodians view the occupation?[/QUOTE]
Like other independent proud freedom-loving people, the Cambodians first welcomed the Viet liberators. However when the Vietnamese OVERSTAYED their welcome, the memories of the millions wrongs the Viets did against the Khmer were revoked and the age-old hatred began to grow within the hearts of the Khmer and they wanted the Viets to get the hell out of Cambodia before the whole country got messed up forevermore and dismembered.
[QUOTE]Did the Vietnamese come to save them (Cambodians), to remove a regime they don't like (the Khmer Rouge), to simply occupy Kampuchea as other Vietnamese had done in the past, or to take more land by force?[/QUOTE]
It is very easy to answer this question and the clear answers come from the distinctive realities of the Viet leadership and the Khmer ordinary people.
To the Vietnamese leadership, it was a MUST that Vietnam must invade Cambodia in order to prevent the Chinese presence near their southern borders. One Vietnamese leader by the name of Nguyen Co Thach clearly stated that Vietnam had never concerned themselves with the Cambodian issue of human rights AT ALL. So clearly, the Vietnamse troops DID NOT come to SAVE the Cambodians at all. The Viets came to REMOVE the Khmer Rouge out of power. In addition, the Viets EVEN ALLOWED the Khmer Rouge to RETREAT and to RECOUPERATE to fight back. The communist Viets and the Khmer Rouge were former friends and allies who fought side by side and shoulder by shoulder against the Americans and their allies. However, to the overworked, hopeless dying Khmer people, when the Viet troops showed up, they were OVERJOYED that finally somebody could actually overwhelmed the ruthless Khmer Rouge troops. The Khmer people hated the Khmer Rouge troops that they helped the Vietnamese troops killed those Khmer Rouge soldiers themselves. In addition, the Khmer people pointed the various hideouts and strongholes of the Khmer Rouge unknown to the moving unsuspecting Viet troops.
[QUOTE]I also like to hear from Khmers who live/had lived in present-day southern Vietnam. [/QUOTE]
I am not a Southern Khmer or Khmer Krom so...
[QUOTE]What is the relationship between Khmers and Vietnamese in that region. [/QUOTE]
I personally think that it is not a very good one considering the fact of the equality issue. Too many Khmer natives are trapped in illiteracy and poverty compounded by the language and the cultural differences.
[QUOTE]What kind of treatment does the Vietnamese government extend to the Khmers. [/QUOTE]
The Vietnamese institutional discriminatory policies are desinged to keep the Khmer natives down and at the margin of the larger Vietnamese society. How many prominent Khmer Krom people are there in Vietnam after these many years of the Vietnamese occupation of the Khmer land? So the evidence is clear.
[QUOTE]The suppresion of religious practices should not be mentioned to show that Khmers are mistreated because the Vietnamese government suppresses all religious practices regardless of ethnic background. [/QUOTE]
Actually, the suppression of the Khmer identity, language, cultural and religious practices were started way before Southern Vietnam became communist. The oppression and suppression on the Khmer people got intensified under the Vietnamese communist regime.
[QUOTE]Were/are there any anti-Khmer rhetorics coming from Vietnamese officials in that region? [/QUOTE]
The evidence shows that the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam have no access to the Vietnamese discrimatory system of social, educational, or public services.
What about this superiority complex of Vietnamese towards Cambodians (participants of this forum excluded)?
Superiority complex? Hmmm isn't that vice versa?
Well I can only tell you from a Cambodian from Cambodia. You should know the superiority complex of the Cambodians towards the Vietnamese. Ask the Vietnamese immigrants or settlers in Cambodia and they will tell you. Hahahaha.[QUOTE]The light-skin vs. dark-skin issue should be discussed. [/QUOTE]
Again from a Cambodian from Cambodia, Skin is skin and it is a natural defense for the human owner to adapt to a certain geographical region. I don't think the Khmer view their skin color as inferior to the light skin color of the Viets. The Khmer always have something to show off to the world in terms of world renown achievements. In fact, in Cambodia, the light-skinned Viets are at the bottom of the food chain living in the underworld. So I don't think skin is the issue. If the Viets think that their light skin afford them more attention than the Khmer, then that is just limited to the Viets only. The Khmer have their own perception of beauty: The Khmer ideal beatiful good look is that of the northern Indian type, not the oriental type. Hahahahha.
[QUOTE]The story of Vietnamese soldiers several hundred years ago using live Cambodians buried in sand to boil water for tea should also be discussed. [/QUOTE]
Yes, I heard about this Vietnamese atrocity even in Cambodia to remind all the Cambodians to stand guard against the evil hearts of the Vietnamese trespassers.
[QUOTE]I heard of the story from a western source pointed out by another Vietnamese member that says this story first originated during the reign of Lon Nol. [/QUOTE]
Huh? This story was in the Cambodian history book and it was part of the Cambodian oral history long before that leader named Lon Nol was anything.
[QUOTE]I think the story would be more credible if it is heard from forum members with Khmer background who lived or had lived in southern Vietnam. Please indicate where and when you first heard of the story. It's a lot more credible if you heard it from your parents who heard it from their parents and so on. There will be more questions to come. [/QUOTE]
The Khmer source says that the barbaric atrocity of the Vietnamese against the subjugated Khmer people in Southern Vietnam started with the digging of the Vinh Te Canal project. So there I just give you the source. Even one Vietnamese author name Nguyen-Hong said that under the harsh rule of the Vietnamese, the Khmer Krom people suffered a lot in term of everything as human beings.
[QUOTE]Thanks in advance for your serious reply.[/QUOTE]
Glad to be of help to you.
Three more questions (just edited)
1. Do you think it is acceptable for one group of people to assimilate another group of people, take over their land through the use of force and should there be an exception to this rule? Vietnam did indeed obtain the land not through warfare but through a dishonorable means although it was done so on the confidence that the Khmer empire lacked the military might to take it back.
2. How far back in time do we have to look to redraw the borderline between Kampuchea and Vietnam? Let's assume the number of years is T, Why not T+1 or T+2 years or T-1... T-2 years and so on?
3. If Vietnam will not or cannot give back the land, but is willing to compensate Kampuchea, what kinds of compensation are you willing to accept?
Some questions are biased because I am Vietnamese. I want Vietnam to remain as it is today.
1. Do you think it is acceptable for one group of people to assimilate another group of people, take over their land through the use of force and should there be an exception to this rule? Vietnam did indeed obtain the land not through warfare but through a dishonorable means although it was done so on the confidence that the Khmer empire lacked the military might to take it back.
2. How far back in time do we have to look to redraw the borderline between Kampuchea and Vietnam? Let's assume the number of years is T, Why not T+1 or T+2 years or T-1... T-2 years and so on?
3. If Vietnam will not or cannot give back the land, but is willing to compensate Kampuchea, what kinds of compensation are you willing to accept?
Some questions are biased because I am Vietnamese. I want Vietnam to remain as it is today.
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